This season's squad expects nothing less than to add to the winning tradition, returning six letterwinners from a 24-4 team that reached the NCAA tournament for the seventh straight year in 2000-01, won the NCAC tourney for the third straight season and placed second in the league behind Wittenberg with a 14-2 regular season mark

"There's no question our players have those same things in mind as goals as the past teams here have achieved," said Moore, who owns the top winning percentage in school history with a 308-82 mark. "We don't even have to talk about goals.

"Our players have high goals and I think they're ready to work hard to reach those goals."

Pollsters believe the Scots will be strong again as they're the preseason favorite to win the NCAC, ranked sixth nationally in two polls and seventh in another.

While the objectives don't change, the way Wooster has gotten there has over the years from time to time. This season, the Scots will be a bigger all-around team.

Wooster achieved its success last season with a guard-oriented starting lineup that featured center Bryan Nelson flanked by four outstanding ballhandlers: Antwyan Reynolds, Nate Gaubatz, Steve Thompson and Matt Smith.

However, local products Gaubatz and Thompson graduated and a talented class of freshmen have arrived, a group Moore believes will allow his team to embody a bigger presence.

Reynolds (5-foot-10, 180) will be a fourth-year starter at point guard, with Nelson (6-4, 230 junior) in the pivot for a third straight winter. Last season the duo earned All-NCAC honors and were selected to the All-Great Lakes Region team.

Nelson led the Scots with 17.5 points and 9.3 rebounds a game, while Reynolds averaged 15.9 points a contest and enters the season with a shot at setting Wooster career marks for steals, assists, games played and 3-pointers.

With Gaubatz and Thompson gone that has opened the door for Smith (6-4, 180) to move from power forward to his natural position, shooting guard. Smith, a junior, scored 10.8 points a game, helped by a 59 3-pointers.

Sophomore Randy Sistrunk (6-4, 170) will move into the starting small-forward position after serving as a key reserve last season. The fifth starter will be freshman Blake Mealer (6-5, 220), a former All-Ohioan from Wauseon Liberty Benton, who will play power forward.

"It's a change, there's no doubt about it," said Moore, commenting on his team's new-look lineup. "Matt Smith played at the power-forward spot last year, but everyone knows he's an excellent shooter. He is a good ballhandler, he just needs to get accustomed to playing on the wing.

"Randy Sistrunk, who played mostly around the basket last year, will be playing on the wing now, too. Randy had an excellent offseason, improved his outside shooting and he's worked hard on his ballhandling and passing. As time goes by, these guys will get adjusted."

Beyond the expected starters for this weekend's season-opening Al Van Wie/Rotary Classic, Moore has plenty of other talent to choose from as the Scots enter with what could be one of their deepest teams in years.

Senior Brian Carlisle (6-6, 225) is a co-captain along with Reynolds and will see plenty of action in the post, as will freshman Matt Schlingman (6-7, 215) from Ashland. Sophomore P.J. McCloud (6-6, 190) is also vying for playing time inside.

"On paper our lineup doesn't appear real tall, but we're a bigger team than we were last season," Moore said. "We wanted to bring in some talented big people and I think we were able to do that.

"The new guys will have to perform well. In switching Smitty and Sistrunk to the wings, we'll need some of the new players to step inside and play well. Blake Mealer and Dan Schlingman are the primary guys that will have to come through there and we have a lot of confidence in them."

Exciting sophomore Rodney Mitchell (5-9, 155) worked hard in the offseason, according to Moore, and will again back up Reynolds. The two could even both play at times, depending on the situation.

Sophomore guard Ryan Snyder (6-1, 175) returns after a one-year hiatus that saw him attend school at Kent State. As a freshman Snyder started 27 of 29 games in 1999-2000, averaged 8.3 points and led the NCAC in 3-point shooting percentage.

Another sophomore, guard Robert Sims (6-1, 200) could also be a key performer after missing last season with a broken foot.

Snyder and Reynolds were also hampered with foot problems recently, but Moore believes everyone should be at or near full strength soon.

Among the other freshmen, Anthony Kent (6-8, 180) has lots of potential as a wing player and is one of the leading candidates to join Mealer and Schlingman as rookie contributors.

Wooster has struggled at times passing the ball in the preseason, but Moore knows it will take time before the team can approach the chemistry of last season's group.

"We have to improve our passing, which has been a problem here in the preseason," said Moore, who coached at Muhlenberg (Pa.) for six years prior to coming to Wooster and is five wins away from 400 for his career. "A big key is how quickly we develop the ability to play together, which I think we will be able to do.

"It's a whole new lineup so it will take a period of adjustment to click."